Suburbanites Live in Diverse Areas

Suburbs with a mix of residents from different races are growing faster than predominantly white communities, according to a new report. The research shows that the number of racially diverse suburbs — which tend to be older and closer in — increased to 1,376 in the 50 biggest U.S. metropolitan areas in 2010, up 37 percent from a decade earlier. The share of residents in those markets who live in diverse suburbs jumped to more than 30 percent from 26 percent over that same 10-year period, while those living in mostly white suburbs — which typically are more far flung — slumped to 18 percent from 26 percent. Diverse suburbs are characterized by strong tax bases, low poverty, and thriving local economies; and they also are more economically mixed and bipartisan in their political views. “These places in their present status are a model for what multiracial America should be like,” according to Myron Orfield of the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota Law School, who penned the report with Thomas Luce. | Read More